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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. content — happy
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. swing — music
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. key — the most important part
  11. hand — in cards
  12. content — the amount
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. key — for a lock
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fork — in a road
  17. swing — to play on
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. branch — a division
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. key — in music
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com